Lisa Bate, Principal in Charge of B+H Architects, commented, “The Joyce Centre pushes the practice of architecture to look not just at how we build a space, but also the ways we interact with it, exploring the unseen connections between building and user, client and designer—a space where commitment, education, technology and the environment converge to create a living lab for sustainable learning and innovation.” Marking a cultural shift in occupant behaviour from open energy consumption to personal accountability, the facility makes users aware of the energy they consume and demands a change in habits, such as charging laptops and mobile phones at home instead of plugging into the grid continuously. Learning is not limited to the labs. Students have full access to all seven levels—from the basement mechanics to the green roof and solar panels—for hands-on learning on how to operate and monitor a zero-carbon building, and to observe, in real-time, the temperature, humidity, ventilation rates, thermal distribution, lighting performance and other key building metrics. Mohawk College student, Rutul Bhavsar, shared, “My fellow students have worked on projects leveraging the capabilities of the building, which have given them an important learning opportunity from a data analytics and renewable energy perspective, as well as a research and work environment to prepare them for future jobs.”
The photovoltaic array is set on cantilevered rooftop ‘wings’ supported by unusual structural steel trees that visibly demonstrate engineering principles. Instead of hiding away the solar panels, they are prominently displayed as a central design feature, allowing students to learn about solar energy. Bate disclosed, “One of the most distinct aspects of the building is its emphasis on celebrating its sustainable design features rather than obscuring them.” The bulk of the building’s embodied carbon is contained within its structure, largely concrete and steel. The steel was sourced from local suppliers and has a high recycled content, while the concrete mix incorporated higher than normal supplementary cementing materials, specifically slag. For the foam insulation used in the insulated pre-cast panels, roofs and some of the detailing addressing thermal bridging, low GHG blowing agents were specified rather than the usual hydrocarbon-based blowing agents. A major carbon- reducing objective of the design is potable water use reduction via ultra-low flush urinals, low-flow faucets and rooftop rainwater harvesting (228,000 litres) for toilet flushing and irrigation needs.
Bhavsar remarked, “What impressed me the most about The Joyce Centre is the thought that goes into picking the appropriate sizes of electrical and
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